Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1887-01-08
GREAT MEMORIES.
Phenomenal Powers Devel-
oped by Some Men.
Ordinary Abilities Joined TO Extraordinary
Strength Of Recollection.

II "ali great people have great memo
Iies," as S.r Arthur Helps declares in his
dc ightful book entitled "Social Pres
it by no means follows that all
those who are possessed of great memo
ries are ''great people" Many an in
stance mightbe cited to show that men
Of very moderate intellectual capacity
may be endowed with a power Of memo
~ which is truly prodigious. In ad-
dltion to this, there are plenty of we'll
authenticated examples Of the extraordi
nary power Of memory displayed even by
idiots. In the Memoirs of Mrs Somer-
willie there is q curious account Of most
extraordinary verbal memory. There |
was an idiot in Edinburg," she tells US, /
'of arespectable family who had re-
markab.e memory. He never failed to |
go to the kirk Sunday, and on returning
home would repeat the sermon, saying, |
"Here the minister coughed here he
stopped to blow his nose During the
tour we made in the Highlands"
she adds, ''we met with an
other idiot who knew the
Bible SO perfectly that if you asked him
where such verse was to be found he
could tell without hesitation and repeat
the chapter" These examples. are suf
ficiently remarkable; but what shall be
said of the case cited by Archdeacon
Fcaron in bis valuable pamphlet on
Mental Vigor 2" "There was IN my
fathers parish" says the Archdcacon,
"a man who could remember the day
when every person had been buried In
the parish for thirty-five years, and could
repeat with unvarying accuracy the name
and age of the deceased, with the mourn
ers at the funeral. But he was com
plete fool. Out Of the line of burials, he
had but one idea, and could not give an
ineligible reply to single question,
nor be trusted to feed himself"
These phenomenal instances may be
matched by the Sussex farm-laborer
George Watson, as we find recorded in
Clones Table Book" Watson could
neither read nor write, yet he was wont
to perfor wondrous feats of mental cal
culation, and his memory for events
seemed to be almost faultless. ''But the
most extraordinary circumstance" says
Hone, ''is the power he possesses OF re-
collecting the events of everyday from
an early period of his life. Upon being
asked what day Of the week given
day of the month occurred he immedi-
ateIy names it, and also mentions where
he was and what was the state of the
weather A gentleman who had kept 3
dairy put many questions to him, and his
answers were invariably correct"
Of similar kind is the memory foI
which Daniel Mccartney has become
famous in the United States. Thf
strange story of this mans achievements
is told by Mr.. Henklc in the Journal Of
.Speculatice Philosophy Mccartney, il
1860, declared that he could remembc
the day of the week for ary date from
January, 1s27-that IS, from the time
when be was years and months old
421-2 wears. He has often been tested
!, and, SO far as Mr. Henklc's account goes
. had not failed to tell bis qucs:ioncr what
. dav it was, and to give some lnforma
: ton about the weather, and about hi
own whereabouts and doings on any on
Of the Is, 900 or more dates that nigh
be named. When Mr. Hcnkle first me
n this man or marvellous memory he va
c employed in the Office Of tho Hos. T. X
v Burkenbrod, editor Of the Salem Kepu}
IL lican, where nothing better could /
d found for Mccartney to do than 'tur
t. the wheel of the printing press two day
:. Of each week" On the first formal or
W animation this man underwent, his a.
h swers were tested b. reference 10 the {
d Of newspaper whica gave the day
X the week along with the date. IN OF
: case his statement was disputed, for Il
ae dav he named was 70, the same Is II:
al given By the paper; bat Oh further II
% quiry it was found that the newspaP
e was wrong, for the printer had made
ID mistake. Shorthand notes Of 4
C. conversation were taken a. subsequel
% interviews. The report Of these is ve
re curious reading. Take the following
Of q sample. ''Question-oct- :. ls2
Of Answer lin two seconds 1--Wcdnesda
ii !, was cloudy and dr'zzlcd rain; ca
or RED dinner 70 M father where be =
Are getting ont coal Q4esfioa-Feo-
- Is2el Answer(in two sec2ndsl Sa:Arda
re, I, was cloudy II the morning AID c.e
1T in the afternoon; there Vas ..t:.e so,
nj OF tie ground At unc.e ~ho III
ass near sold horse beas: that day for 8.
Of Ard 50 the conversation raa oa i1- .9o'